It's hard to judge much of what happens in September but both Hernandez and - to a lesser extent - Urena have shown a bit of something. Possible they'll both be on the roster next year?

Stroman has definitely show he's a top level ace pitcher as well.

But I reckon it'll be difficult for the Jays to bounce back towards the top of the division again next year...

The Jays should be fine next season. They had extremely bad luck with injuries this season. They don't have a lot of holes in the lineup and they have quite a bit of money to spend during the off season. They could very easily get a top flight free agent, maybe even two of them. They need one outfielder to replace Bautista, however they do have Dalton Pompey and also Anthony Alford who they can use there. Hernandez looks ready to me for left field every day. Tulo and Travis should both be back. All that's left is one starting pitcher and they could realistically use Biagini for that. Even if they sign no one they will be semi competitive with the players they already have. This might sound crazy but I hope they sign Bautista as a fourth outfielder and also as a utility player. Barney will be leaving and I can't think of a better guy to keep around as a Blue Jay for life and then make him a coach.

But I reckon it'll be difficult for the Jays to bounce back towards the top of the division again next year...

I think right now it's tough to say. The major questions facing the team have to do with aging/injuries. Can Tulo stay healthy as he declines? Can Martin bounce back at 35? Is Travis ever going to be able to stay on the field?

Then there are smaller questions. Is this year an outlier for Smoak? Is Morales really as bad as he's been? Which is the real Roberto Osuna? Who is the #4 starter?

I agree that it's unlikely that the Jays will rebound to a serious division contender but with the second wild card the way it is you can never rule out playoff contention.

Playoff contention would be good. I guess if you take out the horrific start the Jays had this year they're probably not far off being close to that second spot even.

At their worst, the Jays were 11 games below .500 - and that was in late April. By the end of May, they had overcome most of that, and were only a game below. They're current 8 games below. Without the bad start, they'd probably be 4 games above .500 right now. Every AL playoff team is at least 9 games above. Even without the bad start, with the way they've played over the course of the season, the Jays would be on the outside looking in.

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"Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Excited they have resigned Estrada to one year extension. The guys has been lights out except the first half of this year.

I've heard people say something similar but, aside from the fact that saying someone has been "lights out" except for half the year isn't saying much, it doesn't really jive with his numbers either. These are Estrada's ERAs by month:

April: 2.70May: 3.49June: 9.11July: 6.48August: 5.35September: 3.48

First Half ERA: 5.15Second Half ERA: 4.50

Now, you wrote your post before him getting rocked tonight when he was coming off three very good September starts but even then his year doesn't break down into first half good, second half bad. He was pretty good to start the year, terrible in the middle of the year and then rebounded a bit at the end.

That said, I think he was a little better this year than his numbers indicate. He suffered from an absurdly high opponents' BABIP in June which you'd want to ascribe at least a little bit to bad luck(although it was super low for most of September so...?) and some of his bad numbers have to be attributed to the crazy amount of HR hit this year.

That said I think we should adjust our expectations downward for him a little. Can a 35 year old Estrada be a valuable pitcher? I think so. Much more than a pretty good #3? Eh...

Tulo has yet to show up in TOR and now his D is slipping... yikes. What a monstrosity that contract has become. Complete different player in COL. I would like to think the Jays will better next year, younger and faster but I am worried about Travis/Tulo/Martin being able to contribute their share.

Love the pitching.

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Upon the wicked He will rain Jerseys; blue and white and burning waffles will be the portion of their cup.

Tulo has yet to show up in TOR and now his D is slipping... yikes. What a monstrosity that contract has become. Complete different player in COL. I would like to think the Jays will better next year, younger and faster but I am worried about Travis/Tulo/Martin being able to contribute their share.

Important to keep in mind that a pretty significant chunk of the difference between Tulowitzki in COL and here is park effects.

I'm a Jays fan and if Guerrero is ready to take over mid-season next year or 2019 I'd actually rather they not sign a 32 year old Donaldson to a 20+ million dollar multi-year deal. Especially if there are options to put that money into the rotation.